Epilogue
by The Lotus Black
Summary: I know what I saw was real! It's…I…just… Do believe there are things in this world that can't be explained? Things that…we don't want to explain?


Happy birthday, Lotus! Okay, so it's really late, (it twas the twelfth.) But, here's something I've had in my head for a while. I'll get started on typing up everything else, including the third story in the Paradise series. In the meantime, enjoy this one.

Contains **spoilers** for the movie **The Descent** // Directed by Neil Marshall (2005)  
This short story references the above movie, and the following:  
Quarantine // John Erick Dowdle (2008)  
Mirrors // Alexandre Aja (2008)

Sonic the Hedgehog and Co. © SEGA // Sonic Team  
Spenser von Stephantiz © The Lotus Black

**PART ONE  
****ARRIVAL**

_Jingle._

_Jingle._

There was a tiny golden bell hanging on the corner of the nearby door. It made a gentle sound as it moved with the breeze and bounced with the waves. The strong scent of salty sea water seemed uncomfortable to the small group, though most didn't mind. They were memorized by the scenery as it passed them. Beautiful, bright green leaves covered the horizon and the sound of unfamiliar bird species echoed around the boat. The water that splashed against the side was a dim blue color, though it still sparkled in the sunlight.

But, one person was very unhappy during their trip. Sonic, the person whom his vacation was for, learned against the railing with a bored look stamped onto his face. His birthday was going to be in a few days, and the gang, including Shadow, agreed to celebrate it on the planet Earth. However, no one expected the transportation process to strip them of their natural abilities. Perhaps it was just a precaution set by the American Government, but it was annoying the famous blue bur to no end.

He gave an angered sigh as he felt a presence behind him. "Hey!" He glanced over his shoulder and was greeted by a black video camera lens. "Say 'hi', Sonic!" Tails had gotten this useless gadget before they boarded the ferry.

The blue hedgehog shook his head, turning to face his best friend. "Damnit, Tails. Put that thing down." He pushed it away, earning a laugh from the fox.

"Cheer up, Sonic." He still held that camera up. "We're almost there anyway, aren't you excited?"

"Pssh," the hero shrugged a shoulder. "Hardly. Why the hell would I want to spend three days on a tiny island?" He was frustrated at the loss of his speed; as was Shadow, though he reacted more maturely. Sonic turned back to the railing and slumped down on it.

Tails frowned. "It's to give you some time to relax." That bright smile soon returned. "Besides, it might even give you some alone time with Amy." Knuckles and the fox had known about this 'crush' for quite some time, but understood why it was kept secret – Sonic had many enemies.

"Just, " he let out another annoyed sigh. "Tell me when we get there."

"Well, sweetie," Rouge's cheerful voice seemed to dampen his mood. "Hate to burst your bubble, but we're pulling into port." With a groan, Sonic followed the two to the front, where the bridge was situated.

They stepped off the boat and onto a makeshift deck, where they were welcomed by an affectionate group of people. The small town they lived was filled with trees, and their buildings had been placed around them. As they made their way through what little was there, the blue hedgehog took note of where everything was. It gave his mind something to do, and distracted him from the fact that he was surrounded by worshippers again. There was one grade school and one university. Four restaurants, all home owned, and one pharmacy. One apartment complex and one repair shop. One church and one laboratory. A town hall and a hospital. A clutter of homes and, their destination, a hotel in the middle of it all. Strange statues of female humans with wings jutting out of their backs decorated the entrance. It gave the hero an odd feeling – Certainly one he didn't like.

For a moment, he was scared. Fear shot through him, freezing him on the spot. Tails glanced over at him, holding the camera up to his eye. "Sonic, you alright?"

He shook his head, clearing the thoughts from his mind. "Huh? Yeah." The hedgehog picked his bags up and shot a look at Shadow, who was probably feeling the same negative energy he was. Regardless, he trudged up the steps and followed his best friend to their room, becoming even more unnerved as they rounded the corner.

Mirrors.

Everywhere.

In every hallway.

Behind every statue.

On every door.

So.

Many.

Mirrors.

The situation terrified Sonic to the point where he refused to make eye contact with his own reflection, which was rather difficult at this point. When they reached their destination and were abandoned by the remainder of the group, he brought up the subject. "What? They're just mirrors, Sonic." The two-tailed fox chuckled and placed his knapsack on the bed to the far right. He enjoyed being by the window, and the one they had was rather big. His smile faded as he noticed the hero's worried expression. "What's wrong? You've been acting weird ever since we got here." He titled his head to the side. The hedgehog was strangely unresponsive. "Sonic?" He jumped. "Do you want to go back home?"

"Nah." He laughed. "My nerves are probably just shot from the trip. I need some rest." The blue blur shoved his things under the bed and crawled into it. His words suddenly became true as the sound of the ticking clock opposite to his bed lulled him to sleep.

Sonic awoke, jolting upright in a cold sweat. It was night time, and Tails had gotten up for some reason. He couldn't exactly see what time it was, nor did he care. Slipping out of bed, he began calling his friend's name. Receiving no response and figuring he had gone out to meet the others for dinner or something, he exited into the hallway. At first, his grogginess distracted him from the mirrors, but an image caught in the corner of his eye caused him to jump. Once fully conscious, he returned to his hotel room to fetch a flashlight he had brought. Though he was a hedgehog, a nocturnal being, he felt comfortable with light. It was a crutch for him, in other words.

He returned to the hall, shining the light down either way before fully leaving his room and quietly shutting the door behind him. "Hello?" His voice echoed. "Tails?" A sudden sound made him jump and whirl around. He could've sworn he heard something move back there, as if someone had dragged their feet across the floor quickly. "T-Tails? Buddy?" He stepped back, heartbeat increasing. When he assured himself that nothing was there, he faced the direction he was heading in, and touched noses with a human. It was hanging upside down. The face appeared to be half melted and was covered in boils, not to mention the skin was extremely white and deprived of blood. Sonic was frozen, breath caught in his throat. Until it screamed at him. It was so shrill and high-pitched that it dropped him to his knees. When he looked back up, he was surrounded by similar creatures, all coming from the available mirrors.

"Sonic!" He was splashed with cold water. "Sonic, get up!" The hedgehog was shaking, but calmed himself when he noticed Amy hovering above him with a water gun in her hands. "Morning, silly! Did I scare you?"

"Uh, sure." He sat up with a shudder and rubbed his arms. "I'll catch up with you guys in a second, alright?"

She giggled at his attitude. Sonic was never really a morning person. "Sure thing. We'll be in the main lobby for breakfast. Come downstairs when you clean up." She skipped out of the room.

"…Yeah." He whispered the word after she had left. Tails was already with the others, meaning he was probably alone on this floor. He glanced at the clock and shook his head. Normally, Sonic didn't sleep that long. He merely shrugged it off as jetlag. When he stood, a sharp knocking sound caught his attention. The blue hedgehog instinctively took hold of an angel statue nearby, hiding it behind his back. He opened the door quickly.

"Whoa." Shadow stepped back from the sudden movement. The hero let out a relaxed sigh.

"Sorry. Bad night." He backed away and set the statue back on the table before his rival noticed. "What do you want?"

"Just checking to make sure you're alright." Sonic cocked an eyebrow. "Tails was worried about you. You wanna talk?"

"Heh," he snorted. "No." The hedgehog headed toward the bathroom for a shower, but was followed.

"Why don't you like mirrors, Sonic?" It seemed as if he was mocking the blue blur. "Is there something about your reflection that you can't stand? Afraid of the stories of this parallel universe living within it? That maybe something else is looking back at you?"

"No!" He was becoming defensive. "They're just framed pieces of glass!"

"Are they?"

There was a brief pause between them – Awkward silence that made both of them uncomfortable. "What are you trying to say?"

Shadow shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe something important…or nothing at all." He took his leave with that, closing the bathroom door behind him.

"…Ass." Once he had refreshed himself by taking a quick shower, Sonic regrouped with the others downstairs. He wasn't very hungry, which seemed rather odd to him, but he took a seat between Amy and Tails, helping himself to a donut – Which wasn't as appetizing to them. It was just an overly sugary pastry. "What'd I miss?"

Cream was the one to speak up. She appeared more awake than the remainder of the group. "Miss Amy reserved us a tour of the old doll factory building."

The blue hedgehog rested his chin on his hand. "Hmm, wasn't that the one set on fire in the 1900s?"

"Yup." Amy was holding a pamphlet. "Back in 1936, the factory was mysteriously set on fire. It says here that someone purposely started it in the basement to get rid of a mirror. Um," she flipped the page. "The man who did it was insane and sent to America to be dealt with."

Sonic chuckled. "I'd go insane too if I spent half my life surrounded by so many damn mirrors." He grabbed another donut. "So this doll factory, where is it?"

"About half a mile away. There's going to be a group of tourist gathering there for other tours in," she paused to glance at the clock. "About twenty minutes. I reserved a guide so it'll just be us."

"Speaking of which," Rouge stood, taking the booklet from Amy. "We should go before we're late." Sonic nodded, shoving a third donut in his mouth and grabbing a cup of coffee.

The walk there shouldn't have taken them as long as it did, but the blue hedgehog had to stop for something else to drink, since the coffee he had was disgusting – Though he now states that all caffeinated beverages are distasteful – and because Amy had seen something in the window of a store. Knowing her she couldn't resist. But, one they got there, they were greeted by an upbeat dog. He was discolored and seemed to have a fake smile plastered on.

"Hey everyone!" He gave them a giddy wave as they approached. It wasn't uncommon to see people from Mobius here, since the two parallel planets had a rather nice connection. "You're a minute late, so let's hurry and catch up with everyone else!" They followed him up the steps to the actual building, which was nothing short of old.

It stood three, maybe four stories tall with similar angel statues lining the steps and entrance. The windows were covered with dust, hundreds of bricks were chipped or broken, and the rusted hinges made a horrid creaking sound and the double doors swung open. Inside seemed much tidier than outside. It appeared as if the people who worked here kept things clean, though not too much, as it would ruin the scary mood the building gave off. They were in a traditional lobby – Opposite of the doors was an elongated desk covered with files and paperwork. Chairs were scattered around a glass table, once before splashed with color. The broken tiles cracked under their feet as they enter.

"This doll factory was made in the 1880s. No one is exactly sure what year it was made, since it was never documented. Actually, nothing was really written down for reference here." The guide chuckled. "So. My name is Spenser, and this is the grand Tiny Toys Factory." As he spoke, he opened the main doors to the plant.

It was amazing, and gave off a wondrous feeling. Large tanks were situated everywhere, with wide tubes stretching from one to the other. A catwalk hovered above it, though half of it had already collapsed. "What about the mirror?" Sonic was curious as to why there were so many mirrors on this island.

Spenser seemed to tense up slightly. "What mirror?" The blue hedgehog cocked an eyebrow. "Oh," he laughed. "The fire that took place was unable to be explained. So some of the residents have made up strange stories about the factory that isn't really true. You see, it was merely a gas leak that caused everything to explode. Now, if you'll follow me," he continued on, but without the hero.

Sonic wasn't convinced, especially by the first reaction he received. He made his walk back to the lobby and through a door off to his right. Bingo – Stairs. Amy said the mirror was in the basement, right? Right. With a quiet movement, he flew down the steps and entered another door at the bottom. Pipes lined the walls and rats crawled on them in search of food. He followed them, unable to see completely due to the pitch black environment, but enough to make his way around. After wandering through a few more doors and passageways, he ran into an open chamber.

And froze.

Before him stood three mirrors – The widest in the center, and two beside it sitting at an angle. He walked forward cautiously, gaze set on the center one. Something didn't seem right. Inside that glass was not his reflection. It felt as if someone was staring back at him. Slowly, he stepped forward, until he was mere inches away. The archway through which he entered appeared much cleaner and less damaged. There were pots of trees sitting in the corner, and an end table with a smoking ashtray off to the side. Sonic went closer, curious. He could've sworn he noticed something white crawling on the ceiling.

But, that wasn't all that caught his attention. It was his own image. The more he looked at it, the less like him it became. As he looked away, though he didn't notice, his reflection remained where it was, glaring at him and tiling its head. When the blue hedgehog looked back, the creature in the mirror slammed its hands against the glass, causing him to fall back and let out a shout of surprise. It continued to bang against its prison, desperately wanting to get out. He scrambled backwards, terrified. In a flash it stopped, and the reflected picture returned to normal, including the plants and arch. Feeling relaxed, he pulled himself to his feet.

Something suddenly grabbed his shoulder. It was a cold and harsh grasp that almost made his heart stop. He whirled around. "Shadow! What the hell are you doing here?"

"I should be asking you that. Let's go."

With one last glance at the mirror, he exited the chamber.


End file.
